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Stoke lose key player to injury ahead of Liverpool clash

Liverpool have been handed a welcome boost ahead of the first round of Premier League fixtures this weekend, with the news that Stoke City captain Ryan Shawcross will miss the game through injury.

The one-time England international has been an integral player for the Potters since joining the club from Manchester United in 2007. He helped inspire their promotion into the Premier League seven years ago and has since featured over 300 times for the club in all competitions.

According to the Liverpool Echo, a back injury will keep Shawcross out of our meeting, with two of Marc Muniesa, Marc Wilson, Philipp Wollscheid and Geoff Cameron likely to play instead.

Goalkeeper Jack Butland admits that the loss of their skipper has come as a blow, but insists that they’re still more than capable of getting a result. In quotes taken by the Echo, he said: “To lose him is a big loss, but we do have other players who are more than capable of filling the void while he is not there.

“The likes of Geoff, Marc, Philipp and Muniesa are top class centre-halves who will be brilliant replacements for us.”

The Echo state that Wilson is also struggling, having limped out of the club’s friendly defeat to Porto last week, but the player is still expected to make the game if selected.